Philips really hasn't been stingy with its BDP9600 Blu-ray player. Visual artefacts are all but eliminated and the audio components enjoy their own power supply. For once, a product actually lives up to the hype generated by a marketing department. It's not all perfect, though, as the software has been somewhat neglected and is beginning to look old-fashioned. The remote control isn't up to much either. Despite all that, the BDP9600 is a great product, and getting the audio quality right seems to be Philips' new priority.

With a price tag of S$699, the BDP9600 is relatively affordable given its specifications. The Oppo BDP-93 for example, sports similar specifications but has an additional eSATA port, which gives an extra option for connecting your hard drives. However, compared with the Philips player, it costs more at S$890.